Garden Grove Hurricane Preparation

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Trim your trees. Wind blown tree limbs are a major hazard during hurricanes.

 Install your hurricane shutters or arrange ahead of time for a hurricane caretaker to prepare your home in your absence.  If your hurricane shutters are in compliance with the GG guidelines, they can be left up all summer.  Unpainted galvanized panels or any wood panels are not permitted for long term use.   

Take all of your patio furniture in, that would include any wall hangings that are exposed to the elements & your grill. -Remove any exterior potted plants, as well as your trash & recycle containers. - Items left out could be swept away by wind, causing injury and property damage.  

 Shut your water off & take in your hose & hose cart. 

Turn off the  electrical breakers (except air-conditioning?) to avoid additional damage due to power surges. You may  wish to turn off the aironditioning too to avoid damage due to power surges

Before you depart, be sure to take dated photos or a video of your personal belongings. Bring important papers (such as insurance policies, IDs, stocks, bonds, credit cards, important and important phone numbers) and cash for several days. 

 If you will not be in residence during the hurricane season, please insure that the Property Manager’s Office.  There are at least two reasons to do this:

1. After the Storm  any CERT  members who have remained will have to search for survivors, triage them and provide first aide to those most critically injured. If your home has been evacuated and they don't know it they will waste valuable time searching your damaged home; unnecessarily risking injury to themselves and perhaps delaying  help to those who need it.

2. After the storm you will want to  know if your property sustained damage that needs immediate attention.

 Have a Plan that includes where you will go and when. Roads become more clogged with traffic as the storm approaches. You should have an evacuation route planned with enough time to arrive at a safe location.   Fill vehicles with gasoline as soon as a Hurricane Watch is issued, if not sooner.  Stations will run out of gas as the storm approaches.

Local authorities will advise if evacuation is mandatory. Even if it is not, you may wish to consider it for the following reasons: 

 Fire Rescue, Police, Medical, FPL, etc. will not travel when winds exceed 40 miles per hour; therefore, they are unable to assist you until the storm has passed. This also depends on the condition of streets, i.e. if they are clear of power poles and (possibly still live) power lines and debris, or if there is possible flooding. 

 Garden Grove is located in a low-lying area, making it more difficult to leave the area after a storm due to flooding. 

 Take enough supplies for 7 to 10 days: water; dry goods; batteries; flash lights; a battery-operated radio/TV; clothing; pillows; blankets; a first aid kit; medications; and a car charger for your cell phone. Be sure to charge your cell phone. 

 Homeowners should prepare as follows: 

 Before you depart, be sure to take dated photos or a video of your personal belongings. Bring important papers (such as insurance policies, IDs, stocks, bonds, credit cards, important and important phone numbers) and cash for several days. 

If the storm impacts are forecast to be a considerable distance away and you chose to stay don't forget that many storms have changed direction at the last minute.

First responders may not be able to get to you. Their numbers will be depleted too as they have to look after their own families. Fire Rescue, Police, Medical, FPL, etc. will not travel when winds exceed 40 miles per hour; therefore, they are unable to assist you until the storm has passed. This also depends on the condition of streets, i.e. if they are clear of power poles and lines and debris, or if there is possible flooding.  

Expect that you will lose power for several days or weeks anyway as powerlines in distant locales feed this area. Prolonged power outages means that your air-conditioning ,stove, refrigerator, freezer, water, and even  your sewer, will not be functioning. 

Cell phone and internet is also suceptible to being disrupted too.  Not only may cell towers get blown down, but the authorities often give access only to first responders. i.e  Don't count on your cell phone. The same goes for your landline phone

Stock up on drinking and washing water, non-perishable foods, flashlights, batteries, etc

Prior to the storm  you should monitor the forecast  on TV. When the power goes out you should have a battery weather radio, which are available in many local stores for around $20.  Keep plenty of batteries available.

Be aware that your phone, cell phone and internet services may not be available  as power goes out and towers are knocked down. In addition cellphone service is deliberately cut as circuits get overloaded so that First Responders can get through

As soon as possible after the storm, any information to be communicated with residents will be posted on the bulletin board in the Club House, e-mailed, and posted on the website. Check the bulletin board or the website periodically after the storm because it may be the only means we have to communicate with residents.

Familiarize yourself with storm shelter locations, hotels with emergency generators, and evacuation routes. Be aware that storm shelters do NOT take reservations. See the map in the IR  Disaster Planning booklet.

Do not leave your pet unattended in your home.  Plan to board your pet or take your pet with you. There is only one shelter in the area that accepts pets. 

Indian River County has established a Special Needs Shelter to provide care for citizens with certain medical problems during a major emergency. Candidates must meet certain eligibility requirements, such as, but not limited to: dialysis patients; oxygen-dependent or insulin-dependent patients; patients using nebulizers; or hospice patients. If you meet these criteria, please call 772-567-2154 to register well in advance. For more information, visit the Indian River County Emergency Services website, at www.irces.com, and click on the ”Special Needs Shelter Applications/information“ quick link.  

In an effort to "be ready" should the need arise, gather your "Important Papers"; to one location. This would include:

▪ Insurance papers - home, health & automobile. 

Home - deed, tax bill, homestead

exemption receipt, recent power bill.

Auto - title or registration.

▪ Contact phone numbers - family, friends, doctors, insurance company. During emergency situations, you can't always rely on adequate cellular phone air signal.

▪ Credit cards, bank account numbers

▪ Small valuables

Keep items to a minimum, because if you are displaced for any length of time, you may end up carting this around in the trunk of your car.

All activities and meetings at the Clubhouse will be cancelled or postponed until it is safe for them to resume. The community swimming pool will also be closed prior to the storm and will not reopen until it has been cleared of debris and treated so that it can be safely used.

We likely are going to be faced with a major clean up task. Because of curfews and travel difficulties, it may be a day or so before our landscape crew will be able to get to our property. Once they are able to get here, our initial effort will be to clear roadways and walkways of debris and remove safety hazards. 

We will also try to identify trees and shrubs that can be saved by quickly replanting or staking them. Don’t worry if this does not happen immediately, most of them will survive for a while without being upright. 

In the meanwhile, we ask any of our residents who are willing and able to do so to move debris from their yard to the street/sidewalk in front of their property and to rake the yards of twigs and debris. Once our landscape contractor is able to get sufficient crews to our property, they will try to rake yards and common areas so the grass may be cut soon thereafter.

After the storm, if you notice any situation on our property that needs immediate attention, please contact our Property Manager or a Board member. If the phones are not working, please place a note  the Property Manager’s office.

We ask for your patience and understanding with the Association and its contractors during what is likely to be a difficult time. Everyone will be under a lot of stress and we will need to work together to get through this situation.

Note that the irrigation system will be turned off, and it may be some time before it can be restored because pipes may have been broken by falling or uprooted trees. Our irrigation crew will be on the property as soon as they are able to test the system, identify problems, and make needed repairs. In the meantime, you may need to help water your trees and shrubs with your hose. Also, if you can easily re-stake any shrubs, trees or plants, please do so. This will save our community money which would otherwise be paid for landscape workers and replacement plants.

Please keep landscape debris separate from household debris and garbage. The landscape debris is ultimately put through a grinder to create mulch. Our contractors will not pick up and separate landscape debris which is mixed with other debris.

 If you have your own generator please be sure to familiarize yourself with the proper and safe use of the device. Every year many deaths from Carbon Monoxide occur because of failure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. It is also important that you be respectful of your neighbors regarding the placement of the generator. Exhaust fumes can be a serious, potential life threatening hazard if you don't maintain safe distances from windows and doors. Please make sure you place your generator a safe distance from all windows and doors as described in the generator's operating manual.